Dream Super HERO Groups

Cafe Society
21

It all depends on what you want out of your team. If I want to enjoy a comic book, my team will look different than if I’m putting together a team to destroy a global/cosmic threat.

I will only put together the best of the best global destroying team. My list imitates somewhat Wizard’s team from when they did this a couple of years ago.

Leader/Power: Superman because even though Captain America is a better leader, he sucks in the power department. “Watch out, I’m going to throw my shield at you.”

Technology: Forge because he can create almost anything technological and is able to decipher and convert any alien technology to be able to serve him.

Mental abilities (communication, telekinesis): X-Man is a much stronger PSI than Jean Grey. Martian Manhunter almost gets the nod here because of his all around abilities but X-Man is more powerful. The biggest question mark is whether or not X-Man is willing to work with a team.

Stealth: Nightcrawler is extremely experienced and a complete team player. He owns this category. Plus, he’s able to access areas no else can.

Defense: (category stolen from Wizard when they created their Super superteam) Invisible Woman is able to protect her team physically, hide them, and allow for limited flight in emergency procedures.

Mystic: Dr. Strange can work with a team. Defenders anyone?

Extra to round out to magic number seven: The Flash can do more with his speed than writers can even imagine.

22

The problem with Captain America as team leader is that he’s just too perfect. How much inter-team conflict could you really have with him as leader?
“Punisher! Stop killing people!”
“But Steeeeve . . .”

Brick: Wonder Man. Poor bastard deserves a break after his own series ended so badly. The great thing about Simon is he can be the back-up gageteer, as well.

Mystic: There was a period, in between it’s start as a Hellblazer rip-off, and it’s concluding dive into bizarre vertigo style pretentious weirdness, where Damion Helstrom was pretty damn cool. Failing that, Dr. Theo Diggers, from Gold Digger, who’s a much better team player, and would make a great team leader. Mirth, the mage from Mage, would work pretty well in a more comic-booky world, too.

Energy Projector: Hmm. EPs are a dime a dozen, so it’s hard to make them distinctive. Havok’s not bad, but lacks style. Telekinetics make good EPs, as any Akira fan can tell you. How about Jean Grey/Phoenix from that time where she’d lost her telepathy?

Gageteer: Gina Diggers is just too GOOD a gageteer. She can solve anything in 20 minutes. But I can’t think of anyone better, without dipping into manga. Most gageteers are totally overpowered, anyway, so it’s not that bad. Or, just have Simon do it.

Martial Artist: When you care enough to send the very best, Shang Chi is always a good choice. And he really needs work these days. Just make sure the writers know the difference between China, Korea, and Japan this time. Failing that, we could go with either Nomad or the non-comic code approved version of Green Arrow, but neither of those are very good team players, and the latter is more of an energy projector. I always had a soft spot for Iorn Fist as well. And he’s rich, so he can pay for the base. I always liked Longshot as well, though he’s (Nomad is as well, really) too low-powered to really work in a high-powered team.

Swiss-Army Knife: (In other words, the jack-of-all-trades backup/utility character) As I’ve always thought the brilliant, charismatic, borderline-sociopathic Agito Makashima, AKA Guyver III would make a great team leader, he gets a mention. However, he’s not eligible, not being an American comic book character. So were left with a toss up between the self-delusional cyborg guy from the terribly named Cyber-RAD, or the pre-Infinity-Gauntlet version of Adam Warlock

Speedster: I don’t care if he is ineligible, Hazama, the second 8-Man, fits this too well to ignore. He’s a low level brick, too, and can do the detective work as well. Though he’s badly in need of a costume re-design.

Hmm. No pure mentalists, though Helstrom can do that if he’s present, and Warlock can sort of fake it, so it should be good enough.

–
“It’s not a comic book, it’s a GRAPHIC NOVEL!!!”

23

Words cannot begin to express my disappointment at you geeks. You can pick super-heroes and super-heroines from any company at any time in its existence. You have an imaginary universe full of beautiful women and girls stacked like brick shithouses with Venetian blinds and square wheels and you fill your teams with a bunch of ugly, sweaty, musclebound guys.

The Peyote Coyote presents the All-Babe Team:

Leader: The Wasp. Admittedly not the most powerful heroine in the Known Universe, but she did a good job of leading the Avengers. Plus Janet Van Pym has a wonderfully winsome personality to go with that hot bod.

Mental Powers Dept: Saturn Girl. A far better pure telepath than Jean Grey and she’s a pretty darn good leader herself.

Stongwoman Dept: Kristin Austin from the Southern Knights. (Don’t any of you guys read any comics other than DC and Marvel?)

Gadgeteer: Merry, the Girl of a 1,000 Gadgets from 1940’s DC comics (may have been Fawcett or Timely – I’m afraid I’m not the expert Fenris is). Maybe she can’t whip up a starship from a lawn mower and bicycle parts, but her gadgets were pretty amusing for fighting crime.

Martial Artist: Leiko Wu from Master of Kung Fu. Almost as deadly as Shang Chi and able to use firearms. This would allow Shang to appear occasionally as a guest star and God knows the guy deserves to be surrounded by beautiful women after the shit the character received at the hands of Jim Shooter and Marvel’s other cretins.

Energy Projector: Captain Marvel from the Avengers, but use the version of the character before the team encountered the Leviathan. She was a helluva character, but the House of Ideas, in yet another display of brilliance, ruined her in that stupid, stupid, stupid story arc.

Mystic: Zatanna in either of those two costumes that displays her great legs. A powerful character who has a significant weakness. Gag her and you don’t have to worry about being turned into a toad.

Cosmic character mostly used for rare appearances: Death from the Sandman. Screw the Surfer et. al.; you can’t get much more cosmic than the Endless.

Team servant: Agatha Harkness from the Fantastic Four. She is just as snooty as Jarvis, just as competent as Alfred, is used to dealing with super-heroes, and can always turn the villians into toads should our heroines fall down on the job.

Spunky sidekick: Nova Kane from E-Man, but before she got her energy powers. This can allow E-Man to guest-star occasionally.

Team attorney: Alannah Wolff from Wolff & Bird, Counselors of the Macabre. In these litigious days, every super team needs an attorney and the thought of having Wolff sue their asses off should cause at least half the super-villians out there to surrender.

Here we have a team that villains will beg to submit to. I know I would.

24

I’m not going to try to create a whole team (I’ve been away from comics too long), but I have a comment.

You people looking for a stealth character should look no farther than Shadowcat. Not only can she walk through walls, walk on air, and disable electronics with her mere presence, she can actually engage Reed Richards in a technical conversation.

25

This team is composed of veterans, people screwed by the government, and people just screwed from birth. Whoever is not too busy brooding and having traumatic flashbacks leads.

Marshal Law-Lied to by the government, he went to war. Now he hunts down other super veterans who take their rage out on the innocent.
-Feels no pain, some increased strength
-Has experience defeating most super abilities
-carries a gun with special shells for different varieties of opponents

“I was 15 when I learned the American Dream was dead. I was 18 when I learned they killed it.”

      Broods on: experiences in "the Zone" essentially the Vietnam war with super GI's.
                 The death of his true love at the hands of the Sleepman, a serial killer Law didn't stop in time.

   **Punisher**= Veteran with a dead family.
        -Massive combat training and experience
         -arsenal larger than most countries'
          -access to all kinds of high-tech gadgets
    "The guilty must be punished"

Broods on-Death of his family, the failure of the law to protect the innnocent or punish the guilty

      **Wolverine**  Weapon X
         -heightened senses
       -healing factor
       -claws

“I’m the best at what I do. And what I do isn’t pretty”
Broods on-amnesia, the Canadian government’s use of him as a test subject and weapon, death of his true love

        Their headquarters would have subway and sewer access, and walk in beer fridge.
26

OK, here’s my pick for the BEST TEAM EVER!

Superman- Do you really need a reason to have Supes?

Batman- He can come up with a way out of any situation…Hell, he had ways to take out every member of the JL just in case they all went psycho.

The Phoenix- Not Jean Grey, but her and Scott’s daughter from the future, Rachel. She has the power of the phoenix, AND can control it.

Nightcrawlier- The guy can friggin’ teleport and walk on walls. Nuff said.

Jean Grey- Telepathy and telekinesis. Not a bad combo.

Rouge- Because sometimes you need more than one flying, super-strong, person on your team. Especially is there’s kryptonite or Doomesday around.

Gambit- Because, well, I really like Gambit. Plus his powers are super cool (he has super-agility in addition to his other thing…how many of y’all knew that?) He has connections in the seedy underworld, and can also drive the ladies wild with his cajun accent, mon ami.

Storm- She can coltrol the freakin’ weather! She’s one of the most powerful mutants around! How can you not want her on your team!

Green Lantern- 'Cause, well, that ring is cool! Honestly, rounds out the team with the ability to take care of just about anything the rest can’t.

27

Hee. Thanks for giving me something to do during class today.

I had trouble deciding on a leader - I’m not especially fond of Cap and, as someone above noted, a little dissention in the ranks makes for good drama. And I don’t think I want Superman on this…so who? I think I might just let Wonder Woman double up the Brawn and Leader roles. As princess of the Amazon nation, she must have been trained to lead, yes? She won’t need to be controlled like Hulk would, and that lasso could probably come in handy sometimes.

Magician: Zatanna. I figure you need a true magic-user on your team for those enemies, like Superman, who are nigh-invulnerable to just about anything but magic. As noted below, she’s a cool underused character with a good weakness. I briefly considered John Constantine, but he’s not much of a team player. Oh, and I think we’ll be approaching Tim Hunter with an option to join once he grows up.

Mentalist: Jean Grey. One of the most powerful telepaths out there, plus serious telekinesis ability.

Cosmic: Green Lantern. As already noted, Silver Surfer’s a bit unapproachable. And the power ring is an incredibly versatile weapon, assuming we have a suitably inventive GL.

Detective: Nightwing. Almost the equal of his mentor, and a better team player. Plus I figure he can call in Oracle or Bats himself or the rest of the Gotham clan for backup occasionally.

Stealth: I was gonna go with Nightcrawler until Saltire pointed out that Shadowcat is really the better choice. I really love Kurt, though, so maybe we’ll keep him on reserve. He’s a priest, so maybe he can ask God to smite our enemies if all else fails.

Speed: Flash. Not only is he the certified Fastest Man Alive, but he can also fill the role of Guy Who Makes Smartass Comments. Every team needs one.

Scientist: Spiderman. Okay, maybe not strictly speaking the best for the Scientist role, but he’s competent with science and gadgets and he’s got plenty of other talents to recommend him. I briefly considered Beast for this role, but cutting Nightcrawler means Spidey’s agility will be even more useful. Plus, he can help Flash out in the Witty Comments department.

Psycho Broody Loose Cannon: Wolverine. Better for teamwork purposes than Batman, plus the admantium claws should get him in on sheer coolness factor alone.

Useless Power Guy: Superfriends-incarnation Aquaman. Good for comedy purposes, plus he’s got a fairly snazzy outfit.

Besides that, I can’t believe all of you have left out two other vital roles…

Cute Kid: You know you’ve got to have one. But who? I thought Robin at first, but we’ve got Nightwing already, and Shadowcat’s got the hacker skills covered. Impulse? Troia? Arrowette? Bring in Tim Hunter early? I haven’t been able to decide, and so I leave it up to more dedicated comic book geeks than I. What do you guys think?

Animal Mascot: I’m going with Barnabas from Sandman. No actual powers, but hey, a talking dog might come in handy sometime. Need to get inside a heavily guarded compound? Send Barnabas out to engage the head goon in conversation, and while they’re all going, “Holy shit! A talking dog!” Dick and Kitty are sneaking in the back. Plus, being pals with the Endless has got to be useful, and this way I get to bring them all in for cameos.

28

Oh, it’s sex you want, is it?

Fine. Here’s my team. It’s not just babes, but it sure would be fun to watch their … um … adventures.

First, the guys:

Starfox/Eros from the Avengers. He’s got the ability to psionically stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain.

Nightcrawler from the X-Men. Blue fur and a tail.

Northstar from Alpha Flight. I figure I’ll throw in something for everyone.

Now, the ladies:

Stacy X - Currently of the X-Men. Former prostitute who can chemically effect someone similar to Starfox.

Triplicate Girl/Triad/Duo Damsel - need I say more?

Omaha the Cat Dancer - Not technically a super hero, but what the heck.

Orgasm Lass from XXXenophile.

29

OK, here’s my take:

Leader: Captain America. Nuff said.

Martial Artist/Comic Relief/Loose Cannon: The Badger, from the old First comics, written by Mike Baron. Badger is perfect. He was always much more funny when he teamed up with Nexus and Judah than in his own book. “I’m an American Citizen and I demand to see my geese!” Plus he’ll always be picking up talking dogs or weird artifacts and getting the team in trouble. And you can always have him go psycho when you run out of story ideas.

Mystic: Martain Manhunter. Every team should have J’onn J’onnz on it. He’s telepathic, can shape-change, has super strength, he’s a great back-up leader. A jack of all trades. He has the strength of character, self-knowledge, and humility to hold a team together. MM is the heart of any team. Plus he likes Oreos and isn’t above cracking a few jokes himself. One of my favorite DC characters of all time.

Brick: Captain Marvel. The SHAZAM! Captain Marvel, more than the 50s version. He’s really a kid, so he will take direction, he’s learning his powers, but he might make mistakes. Not very smart, but well intentioned.

Zapper: Storm. Can control the weather, fly, etc, plus is a great character. Auxilary leader, plus potential Martian Manhunter love interest. Yes, I said love interest. You got a problem with that?
Sidekick: Miss Tipesto, from the 80s TV show Moonlighting. Hey, who said we’re limited to comic books? She can answer the phones, get the team in trouble, act as straightwoman, break into verse…perfect.

30

I don’t think your team would be interested in fighting crime. :wink: “Do we have to stop Galactus now? We’re busy!” giggle

On the other hand, thinking up names for this team would be fun…

31

DC: She was the Star-Spangled Kid’s sister or cousin, I can’t remember which. And she eventually became so popular that she took over his strip.

**

Top Hat and Fishnets, dammit! Nothing less will do!

One more to add: Alanna Strange (Adam’s Girlfriend/Wife): has a jet-pack, a ray gun and is smart and resourceful. Plus she was an equal, not a sidekick, which was very unusual in the early 60s. (Plus with the Infantino/Anderson art, she was HOT)

Or Super-Teen! Magic ponytail and all!

Fenris

32

You don’t need a whole team, if you’ve got Molecule Man.

33

Molecule Man, Owen Reese, no longer exists as such.

Remember Secret Wars? The Beyonder was an entire dimension and everything in it. Then some event poked a pinprick hole in the dimensional walls. The Beyonder learned of our dimension and Secret Wars 1 and 2 ensued. The second series ended with the death of the Beyonder.

In a much later ish of Fantastic Four, the Beyonder is found alive.

Revelation# 1-The event that tore the dimensional wall was the accident that gave Owen his powers. He and the Beyonder are parts of a single entity.

Revelation#2-If the accident had not occured, that entity would have become a Cosmic Cube.
The Shaper Of Worlds reveals that he is the Skrull’s cosmic cube and Beyonder/Owen’s older brother.
Kubik is AIM’s cube and B/O’s younger brother.

  Owen and Beyonder agree to merge and become a Cosmic Cube. Sadly, the Cube vanishes before The Thing can wish for universal peace.

New Team-Black Ops
Leader-Black Panther
He’s a king and knows how to lead. Has a royal treasury too

  Cosmic Guy-Black Bolt

Massive destructive power. Flight. Can survive in space without a suit.

Stealth-Black Widow
  Spy training and spy gear. Ties to inteligence community.
 More trustworthy, trained, and better equiped than the Black  
  Cat.

    Energy-Black Lightning
An underrated superhero. Plenty of experience though.

     Tech-Black Knight-He's quite a scientist

 Mystic-Can't think of anyone at the moment

Clearly the team would be menaced by Black Manta, Black Mamba, Black Rock, Blackout(Darkforce manipulator), Blackout(mutant Anne Rice Fan, was a cool serial killer later writers ruined him by turning him into whiny Lestat wannabe), Black Spider, Black Mass, Black Lash, Black Wing, there are other villians but I don’t have a Who’s Who Or Marvel Universe handy.

34

Peyote Coyote:

The Leviathan? You mean that creature that Marrina from Alpha Flight turned into, in Avengers # 291-293 or so? I was still reading Marvel back then (obviously) and I don’t recall that story ruining her character. Care to elaborate?

Chaim Mattis Keller

35

Yes, cmkeller, I do mean that story. If I recall the plotline, and it’s been a hell of a long time since I read the story, so forgive me if some details are not quite right, Captain Marvel dessicated herself into an old woman and disappeared from the storyline. She may have returned later; I wouldn’t know as I quit reading Marvels a short time after this. I thought it was a stupid premise for the character as Captain Marvel had been shown casually tossing off several quarter-kiloton blasts, one after another (Thor 350 or Avengers 249 – when Walt Simonson had Surtur threaten the entire universe).

36

She dessicated herself into an old woman 'cause she expended too much energy by beaming herself across the galaxy or something, IIRC: It was a stupid story.

Anyway, she’s back and healthy again, AND she has the far better name of Photon. (There’s only one Captain Marvel and he’s the Big Red Cheese)

Fenris

37

Once again, Fenris, I am forced to acknowledge your superior knowledge of comics.
I am glad to see CM was restored to her old self finally.
I am also glad to see we agree the Leviathan story was stupid. I think that “story arc” was one of the major reasons I quit reading The Avengers.

38

Thanks, but actually, I remember nothing (except the bad taste left in my mouth) about the story except the Capt. Marvel dessicates herself thing. Got any further info?

Fenris

39

I’m having trouble with the idea of Death in a super-team…

And, in a backup story in an FF annual, they split apart again. The Beyonder reincarnated as “Kosmos” & Owen’s essence went … elsewhere. So he could come back, if he hasn’t already.

Also, I think Nate sacrificed himself in the last issue of X-MAN.

40

Brick: Mon-El or Captain (Shazam) Marvel
Mentalist: Moondragon
Energy Projector: Wildfire or Firestorm
Martial Artist: Timber Wolf circa 1985 or so
Espionage: Invisible Kid
Cosmic Entity: Warlock
Others: Booster Gold and Blue Beetle (must be taken together); the Elementals (as a team); Jack of Hearts; Goliath (Hawkeye version); either the Phantom Stranger or Spectre (like either of them would join).

Excluded at all costs: Wolverine, Lobo and any of their ripoffs. Batman is less of a team player than Spectre/Stranger and he gets locked out.

I’m sure I’ve missed others.